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THE 



SLAVE -AUCTION 



By Dr. JOHN THEOPHILUS KRAMER, 

LATE OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 



' Blush ye not 
To boast your cqiiuI laws, your just restraints, 
Your rights dctined, your liberties secured, 
Whilst, wltli an iron hand, ye crush to earth 
The helpless African, and bid liiui drinlc 
That cup of sorrow which yourselves have dashed, 
Indignant, from Oppression's fainting grasj> ?' 



BOSTON: 

KOBERT F. WALLCUII^ 21 CORNHILL. 

1859. 



In Bt^oh' UK^ 
C^roaU Uaiv. 

3 W9b oe 



4. 



^d> 



PREFACE. 



The Nineteenth Centui^ is generally believed to 
be an enlightened one. Great discoveries have been 
made in the fields of science. Countries which were 
almost unknown a century ago are now competing 
in art and wealth with the mother countries. Civ- 
ilization has made a decided step forward ; but in 
some countries, civilization has made, in one re- 
spect, no progress ; on the contrary, it has made a 
step backward. 

There is an institution, which is called by many 
civilized men a ' lawful one,' but which is in reality 
an institution of ancient barbarity. It is the insti- 
tution of slavery! If we take for truth, that civ- 
ilization and Christianity go hand in hand, we are 
astonished to sec a civilized and Christian people 
violating the hnvs of civilization and ofChristianity, 
by adhering to and nursing said institution of bar- 
barity. Christianity and barbarity will always op- 
pose each other, and if a nation is trying to make a 
mixture of botli, civilization as well as Christianity 
will suffer extensively. 



The motive of my present writing is not a politi- 
cal one. I have been plainly trying to answer the 
question, ' Can slavery and Christianity go hand ir^ 
hand together?' by giving a faithful picture of 
what I have seen with my own eyes, while residing 
in some of the slave States for more than ten years. 
If the glorious redemption through the crucified 
Nazarene shall be of equal blessing to every Chris- 
tian, how can a white Christian treat a Christian of 
color like a beast? How can the former have a 
right to sell his black or yellow brother or sister at 
public auction for money or approved paper? 

I have no personal ill feeling against the owners of 
slaves in the slave States of this Union, but to their 
institution of slavery, and particularly to their 
slave-auctions and to their slave-markets, I am a 
decided enemy. As a man and a Christian, I am 
obliged to protest solemnly against an institution 
which is a burning shame to Christianity, which is a 
backsliding from civilization to barbarism, a destroy- 
er of family-life, a crime against virtue, and a blas- 
phemy to the cross of the Redeemer ! 

J. T. K. 



THE SLAVE-AUCTION. 



They were born as slaves, through the iniquity of 
men. They are redeemed to be free men, through Christ 
Jesus. 



There is a broad hall, situated in one of the most 
fretjuented streets of a large and well-known city in 
the South. You will be astonished when you shall 
find, in place of a lion's den or a man-trap, a nicely- 
fitted up refreshing-place. Nothing formidable is 
presented to )'our eyes. Several corpulent and richly 
dressed gentlemen are helping themselves to tine 
liquors and delicacies, profusely spread out before you, 
and placed upon an elegantly shaped bar. Beautiful 
pictures, ornamenting the walls, attract the eyes of 
some amateurs of art ; while others, preferring nice 
lots and buildings, are studying the designs of several 
large maps, showing various city lots and splendid 
buildings, advertised ' for sale at auction.' In the 
vicinity of said maps is a platform, whereupon a ta- 
ble is placed, together with a writing-desk and a few 
chairs. Two colored waiters are busy placing several 
hundred commodious chairs, facing the platform. 
The doors of the hall open frequently, for there are 
many gentlemen entering, and soon is gathered a large 



assemblage, by whom the chnirs are occupied. There 
you will see tlie elegantly dressed dandy, sniokin;^ his 
sveet-Bcented Havana, while examininp;, through liis 
richly gilded eye-gla.«>s, the dcs-igns of building lots. 
Next to his chair you will perceive and admire the 
athletic feu m of a Kentucky trader, with liis plain frock, 
and with his boots rcacliing over his knees. There 
you Avill also see the rich and proud planter from 
Mississippi, reasoning with Ids fierce-looking, but i 
now, before his employer, creeping overseer. ' 

The doors are opened again. Four ladies, splendid- 
ly dressed in black silk and satin, and glittering with 
precious jewels, are entering the hall. Eight or ten 
gentlemen, who were already comfortably seated next 
to the platform, jump up from their chairs, and po- 
litely ofi'er their seats to the fair guests. 

Eut, you will ask, for what reason is all this going 
on ? What are the ladies and gentlemen waiting for? 
Perhaps it is court-day, and the peojjle are waiting for 
the Judge. It cannot be, for the court-house is oj)- 
posite the Square. Is it perhaps a prayer-meeting ? 
Pshaw ! Praye'"-meeting and liquor-bar — would that 
do? 

But what can it be r "Who is that jolly round gen- 
tleman, placing a large book upon the writing-desk, r< 
and looking like a bird which has never seen a cage, J, 
but which has its three meals per diem in the middle 
of a ripe wheat field r Is it not a pleasure to take a 
glance at his face, radiant witli contcntmoit and plen- . 
tj' ? If that man were a pastor, slujuld we not \ 
like to pasture with his flock ? See there ! he hands .r ' 



now to the wnitrrs a lars^e par-karje of bills. We shall 
soon luarii wliat kind of a concern all this is. It. will 
be, most probably, neither a session of a court, nor a 
prayer-meeting. 

A Slave Auction ! Great God in heaven ! a 
Slave Auction ! And that man upon the platform 
is the auctioneer ! 

What a noise is going on outside of the doors ! 
There will, s\irely, enter a troop of men, women and 
children. How will they find places amongst the 
spectators of the tragedy which will soon com- 
mence ? — for every chair is occupied, and many 
men are leaning upon the bar. There is room in 
front of the table, and near to the walls of the hall. 

A gentleman is entering. The auctioneer hastens 
to receive him with distinction, and conducts him to 
the chair behind the desk. The stranger is an Amer- 
ican gentleman, and owner of the slaves who are 
now to be sold at auction. lie owns a beautiful plan- 
tation, about forty miles from tlie city, near the rail- 
road. He intends to run as a political candidate; 
he needs, therefore, money. He says he is ' truly sor- 
ry ' to be obliged to sell his slaves at auction. Why 
sorry ? Because his fatlier raised most of them. They 
are • family slaves,' and ' very likely indeed.' He is 
a young man of about thirty years. He has a high 
forehead, and an intelligent, upright face. 

But why can he not take a glance at the assembled 
audience? What is the matter with him, that he 
always bends his face over the desk, and that he will 
not look up ? Has he not a right to be proud, and 



8 

shall not the multitude envy the happy owner of a 
gang of one hundred and forty-nine slaves ? liut wo 
comprehend what is the matter with him. He pre- 
tends to be a good Christian, and he is acquainted 
with the gospel ; he therefore knows what is right, 
and what is wrong. It is his conscience that troubles 
him. His inner man is well aware that he is doing 
a heinous crime to sell at auction one hundred and 
forty-nine fellow-beings, redeemed by his Savior upon 
the Cross ! 

While we were regarding the man behind the desk, 
we never perceived that the doors were re- opened, 
and that a large number of people had entered the 
hall. There are men, women and children, and some 
babies upon their mothers' arms. Their color differs 
from that of the ladies and gentlemen sitting upon 
the chairs. Some are black as ebony, some brown, 
some yellow. There is also a beautiful young girl, 
nearly white, and you would readily infer that she is 
of Spanish or French blood. Not one among all of 
these poor creatures will raise his or her head and eyes, 
to take a glance at the sitting assemblage. Some 
poor girls are weeping audibly, and all are looking 
sad— sad— sad ! Reader, if you should happen to be 
of a gentle nature, take a glance at the little babies 
upon the arms of their poor and distressed mothers ! 
Can babies feel their misery r Yes, indeed, they can. 
Every mother will endorse my words. I shall never 
forget those looks of deep sorrow, which I perceived 
in the faces of all those poor little children upon the 
auction-stand. I know that they participated in the 



9 

distress of their mothors; I believe that they were 
conscious of their horrible fate in that awful hour — 
to be sold for money to the highest bidder ! You, 
who have human feelings — you, who are no figures of 
cold marble — contemplate each of these one hundred 
and forty-nine descendants of Africa's sons and 
daughters ! "Will you be still indifferent towards that 
♦institution' which degrades men to beasts, which is 
the deepest pit of barbarity ? 

But, you will say, are they not tolerably well dress- 
ed? And who would say that their bodies have been 
worn out by hard labor, or by the effect of hunger? 
No ; it seems rather that their master had treated 
them kindly, that they have seen but little trouble, 
but low hard times. Why then are they looking 
grave and distressed, as if some heavy misfortune had 
befallen them ? Their knees tremble, as if they had 
the foreboding of some awful calamity ! 

Yes, iixdeed, they have cause to tremble — they 
will not do wrong if they cover their eyes (which are 
not their own) — they may bend down their heads in 
deep mourning ; for — reader ! these one hundred and 
forty-nine human souls shall be sold to-day as so many 
heads of cattle ! 

They have been taught the religion of freedom, the 
gospel of the only Master in heaven and upon earth. 
They know that they ought to be free, because they 
are Christians. They believe that the Son of God 
has abolished slavery by his death upon the accursed 
tree. They were told by their own master that they 
were made free through the merits of the blood of 



10 

Jcpus Christ, and that^they hnve a ri^ht to claim 
thcirjfrccdom for tliemselvcs and for ilieir children. 

Such are the teachings of the slaveholders in the 
slave States, hut they must themselves surely believe 
in a very different gospel from the gospel of freedom, 
as given by the Xazarene ! 

To excuse themselves, they say that, throuf,'h the 
curse of the patriarch Xoah, a whole race of men were 
made slaves forever. Tliey are deaf to the great 
truth, that, thousands of years after the death of 
Noah, the great Liberator, Jksvs Chuist, appeared, 
and that he broke, by his death upon the Cross, all 
chains of shivery forever ! 

Let us return to the table of barbarity, and we will 
follow the course of proceedings at the public auction 
sale of one hundred and forty-nine of our fellow- 
men. 

The auctioneer stands upon the i)latform : he is 
ready to sell any of these to the highest bidder for 
gold, silver, or approved paper. He calls himself a 
Christian. He seems to have no idea that he is going 
to perform an act which is the greatest blasphemy 
towards his Lord and Master. Is not any man, pre- 
tending to be a Christian, and selling his Christian 
brothers like horses, mules or dogs, a hypocrite ? And 
is any man, calling himself a disciple of Christ, but 
favoring and seconding slave auctions, any better ? 

We will listen to the reading of the auctioneer, who 
is holding a paper in his right hand :— ' I am author- 
ized,' he begins, « to sell at auction, one hundred and 
forty-nine plantation negroes, comprising caiijenters, 



11 

bricklayer?, blacksmiths, coopers, drivers, house and 
field-hands. Families will be sold in block. These 
5-lave have been raised, and tlie larger portion of them 
were born on the estate of Minor II., Esq., who is 
retiring from the plantation interest on the Beau- 
Bosquet Place. The slaves are considered as one 
of the most valuable and healthy gangs in the 
South. They will be guaranteed only in title. Terms 
of sale, one-third cash, balance at one and two years' 
credit, with interest of six per cent, per annum, 
until final payment. If the terms of sale are not 
completed within four days from date of sale, the 
slaves will be resold, for account and risk of for- 
mer purchasers, after two days' advertisement in two 
of the city papers, without further notice of legal 
default.' 

No. 1. Harvey, field hand, about twenty years old. 
♦ Come up here, my boy ! There j'ou arc — bon ! A 
capital boy ! Ladies and gentlemcr., look here at 
this healthy child ! Can any darkey upon God's 
beautiful earth beat him ? Wouldn't he whip Her- 
cules, if that personage should happen to be present ? 
"NVhat a splendid fellow he is ! The gentleman who 
will buy Harvey will draw a lucky number. Who 
is going to bid ? Go ahead, gentlemen ! Here is a 
capital opportunity.' 

* Eight hundred dollars.' 

* Psliaw ! Eight hundred dollars? Why, twice 
as much shall never buy him ; he is fully worth two 
thousand dollars. Who will bid more r' 



12 

• Nine hundred.' 

• Nine Inindrcd ilollars is no monoy for sucli a fellow, 
and if you will pay every picayune twice, you can't set 
him ! Nine hundred for Harvey ? Gentlemen, you 
have had, ])robahly, bad news to-day ; or is the news 
conlirmed, and has the California steamer fouiuUiod ': 
They say so, but do not believe a word of it. I say 
it is safe ! Nine hundred dollars for Harvey !' 

• And fifty.' 

'Nine hundred and fifty dollars for Harvey, the 
most likely boy in the noble and fair State of Louisi- 
ana ! Ain't it too bad ? Who bids more r' 

• One thousand !' 

• Well, a little better ! Go on, ijentlemen, if you 
please. One thousand— one thousand— one thousand 
dollars.' 

• And fifty.' 

' And fifty ! My dear sir, do me a favor, and say at 
once two thousand. And fifty— and fifty ! Ten hun- 
dred and fifty dollars !' 

• Eleven hundred.' 

« Eleven hundred ! Too little yet.' 

• Twenty dollars more.' 

• Sir ? Twenty dol . Pardon, excuse me, if I 

am truly astonished to hear a gentleman bid twenty 
dollars ior Harvey, the American Hercules ! Twenty 
hundred I would like it better.' 

'Twelve hundred and fifty.' 

'There is a generous gentleman! Sir, take my 
best wishes for your welfare ! Twelve hundred and 
fifty dollars ' 



13 

« And fifty.' 

'Still better! And fifty! One thousand three 

hundred dollars!' 

• Fourteen hundred.' 

• Fourteen— thank you, sir, thank you ! Fourteen 

hundred dollars! Fourteen hundred ! Fourteen 

Gentlemen, bid more, if you please ! Fourteen hun- 
dred dollars for Harvey are nothing. Fourteen. ' 

• And fifty.' 

« Fourteen hundred and fifty dollars for a boy who 
is worth two thousand ! Gentlemen, here is a good 
chance to improve property! Whoever will buy 
Harvey, shall own a fortune. Who is going to bid 
more ? Fourteen— fourteen hundred and fifty dollars 
—going ? One thousand four hundred and fifty dol- 
lars— dollars— dollars! Who will bid more? No- 
body ? Nobody more ? Fourteen hundred and fifty 
dollars for the negro boy Harvey, the best field hand 
and the most gentle boy amongst all the darkeys in 
the United States! Going— for the first— secf.nd— 
who will say more ? Fourteen hundred and fifty dol- 
lais— going— going— going— gone !' 

' Go off, Harvey ! Hurry yourself! Don't believe 
your bones are made of sugar and eggs.' 

No. 2. Joseph, field hand, aged about seventeen. 
♦ Gentlemen, there is a young blood, and a capital 
one ! He is a great boy, a hand for almost every 
thing. Besides, he is the best dancer in the whole 
lot, and he knows also how to pray— oh ! so beauti- 
fully, you would believe he was made to be a minis- 
ter ! How much will you bid for him ?' 



14 

• One thousand dollars.' 

• Good— but that is uot half the price he is really 
worth. Gentlemen, if you will hid two thousand at 
once, it may not suffice to buy him. One thousand 
dollars for a boy, who will be worth in three years 
fully twenty-five huiu'.red dollars cas,h down. Who 
is goiuf^ to bid two thousand r' 

• Twelve hundred dollars.' 

• Twelve hundred dollars ! Sir, I did say, he would 
soon bring two thousand. I am always pretty near 
certain of what I say. Twelve hundred for Joseph ! 
Si)lendid fellow that ! Eleven huii.lrcd and eighty 
dollars more than for his namesake of old in the land of 
Egypt. Twelve hundred dollars! Gentlemen, bid 
more !' 

' Twelve hundred and fifty dollars.' 

• One thousand two hundred and fifty dollars ! AH, 
right; but more I more I more!' 

• And fifty.' 

•And fifty—and fifty— and fifty for Joseph— not 
the Hebrew.' 

' Thirteen hundred.' 

'Thirteen hundred— a bad number, gentlemen — 
don't let him rest at thirteen hundred.' 

' And fifty.' 

' Thirteen hundred and fifty is said to be a lucky 
number in lotteries. I don't know as it is true, but 
I do know that thirteen hundred and fifty dollars will 
not buy Joseph.' 

• Fourteen hundred.' 

• Well, no ticket of any lottery will cost that much ; 



15 

but Joseph must bring more. Fourteen hundred dol- 
lars I' 

' And fifty.' 

• One thousond four hundred and fifty dollars. It 
looks like rain ; for cash -will not out, and I am un- 
able to procure a magnet which will draw gold. -for 
value received. Fourteen hundred and fifty dollars ! 
Too small an amount for Joseph. Seventeen years 
only — a strong, healthy, fine-looking, intelligent boy. 
Fourteen hundred and fifty dollars! Gentlemen, 
Joseph is worth more than Harvey — upon my word ! 
One thousand, four hundred and fifty — going ! Four- 
teen hundred and fifty for the first — second — going? 
Fovirteen hundred and fifty dollars — going ! going ! 
going ! and last — gone ! He is sold to you, sir ! 
Please state your name.' 

No. 3. John Dowson, a carpenter, thirty-five years 
old, (afflicted with slight hernia,) an intelligent 
looking man, stands upon the platform. 

But as the reader would get tired of listening to 
every word that the auctioneer of human souls says, 
we will stay with some of the poor creatures, merely 
giving the names, age, and the price of sale of the 
rest. The above named John Dowson was sold for 
$1200. 

No. 4. Alfred, cooper, (injured in left leg,) 19 years 
of age, a strong and very honest looking boj-, brings 
$1550 ; a very small price for a first-rate cooper, but 
Eurely the price of blood for a man and a Christian ! 

No. 5. George Bedford, field hand, 30 years, sold 



16 

No. 6. Jim Ludlow, field ljand,30 years old, bringu 
$1400. 

Xo. 7. Chnp, field hand, 31 years, brings the round 
sum of $1000. 

No. 8. Henry Wood, 2.3 roars old, for .-$^1375. 
No. 9. Charles Longback. i)loumuu and harness 
maker, age 35, value received, $1300. 

No. 10. March, field hand, 26 years old, fine look- 
ing fellow, splendid eyes, teeth white like ivory. 
That dandy there, who is lighting his cigar with a 
fashionable Parisian silver-match, would be glad to 
give his gold watch with chain, and his diamond 
breastpin in the bargain, for March's beautiful set of 
spotless teeth. But how can we see them r IsMar-.h 
so much pleased as to show all his teeth r No, read- 
er! he is very, very far from laughing. His eyes 
are cast down; they are fixed upon the floor of tie 
hall. But tell me wliy March sliows his teeth r Out 
of rage ? Yes, indeed, out of rage. Why ? 

There is a poor young woman at his side ; they call 
her Caroline. A Christian minister gave her that 
name when she was christened. Slie is bitterly cry- 
ing ; she casts a look of extreme sorrow upon her hus- 
band. Why ? 

Caroline is the lawful wife, (lawful, indeed r law- 
ful in a Slave-State?) of March, and the 'gentle- 
man' who bought him for $1250 will not buy Caroline. 
She is twenty-two years of age, and the auctioneer 
calls her a splendid v.asher and ironer, a very likely 
girl. She has always conducted herself well ; she 
is a member of the Methodist Church ; she is one of 



17 

the most gentle persons in the South ; she calls March 
her husband, and she loves him dearly. And now, 
gentle reader, tell me why Caroline shall be torn from 
her husband ? Why shall she belong to a tyrant ? 
Because that man has money — because he bought her 
for $1100. 

Friends of humanity ! take another glance at No. 
10.;^. There stands Caroline, crying for her husband 
in a manner to move a heart of stone ; but she is not 
crying loud enough to move pretended ' Christians,' 
■who are going to church every Sunday, there to adore 
the Redeemer of mankind, the Savior upon the 
Cross ! 

No. 11. Abraham Arkansas, plowman and carter, 
28 years of age ; he. brings $1350. 
No. 12. Michael, carter and plowman, 29 years, sold 
for $1300. 

No. 13. Booker, plowman, 28 years, brings $1375. 

No. U. Lucy, a young girl of U, yet nearly a 
child. Her color is black, but her features are hand- 
some. She stands upon the platform like a lamb, 
doomed to be sold to a wolf. See those long, silky 
eyelids ; how the large full drops are falling upon the 
table ! Look at the sad, silent face of a poor lovely 
girl of dark color, innocent like the blossom of a fair 
nightly flower ! Her crime is, that she is a descend- 
nnt from African blood. Look, how her full, red lips 
open with untold agony, showing a string of pearls 
rarely to be met with. Her dark but soft eyes are 
fixed upon the man who has already bid twice for 
her. She casts them down in despairing hopeless- 



18 

ness, 08 he is bidding for licr $102o for the Inst timo. 
.She bdciigs to lurn ! Ilcr whole body biluii-s to the 
nuiii with the lustful countenance; to the very man 
•w ho whispered in her car when she was entcrin<; the 
hall of i)erdition, 'Thou art mine, black little dove! 
Thou art mine, even though God and all his lioly 
nnpols should defend thee !' Does not that man lo(.k 
like one of the liends r But he has paid for her, one 
thousand and fifty dollars in gold and approved j)aper ; 
he takes her away— and hell solemnizes its triumph ! 

No. 15. The boy Clifford, a field hand, fourteen 
years of age, is sold for $;10U0. 

No. 16. Sam, twenty-one years, truly as honest a 
boy as could be found south of Mabon and Dixon's 
line. A gentleman behind my chair is exclaiming, 
' What a splendid jet black animal he is !' JSam 
brin<is the nice round sum of j^iloOO. 

Xo, 17. Little Henry, plowman, twenty-four years, 
brings .f; 1325. 

No. 18. Titus, blacksmith, cooper and engineer, 
•extra,' 23 years. Of course, he must be ' extra,' for 
he is able to work for his master at the rate of $5 a 
day. Now, suppose he could work for himself at the 
rate of only $3 a day, it would take him only iwo 
years five months and seventeen days to produce the 
money for which he is now sold at auction. But his 
master will be a wise man, (though he is a prominent 
member in his church)— he will let him have no time 
to work for himself; no, not one hour ! 

The kind reader will give me permission to retreat, 
for a short time, from the auction hali, in order to re- 



19 

late an cvont "vvhich liappcnod at the time of my stay 
ill tlie same city wliere our auction takes place. A 
certain citizen of said city had a very honest and dili- 
gent slave, a blacksmith by trade. The slave agreed 
■with his master to pay him two dollars and a half a 
day, but the money which he should earn besides, 
should belong to himself. He dilipicntly worked by 
day and night, hardly allowing himself any rest. 
By so doing, he made two dollars and a half a day for 
his master, and one for himself. After live years of 
the hardest toil, the slave had collected the required 
sum of money to buy himself free — say J$1800. He 
— poor honest fellow ! — not suspecting the rascality of 
his ' Cliristian ' master, liad f^iven to him, at the end 
of ovi ry week, $24,50 : all of his very hard earned 
money ; and after the lajjse of five years, he demand- 
ed his freedom fr(<m that master. But the hardened 
wretch laughed at him, and told him to go to h — 11, 
and to his work again. Now, could not the slave 
find justice in the court of justice? No, never — for 
tlie laws of the Slave States provide that no slave 
shall bear witness against ar.y white person. No 
< Christian ' judge nor ' Christian ' jury could help 
the poor slave ; for the laws of a • Christian ' State 
regard a fellow-man of color as a tool, belonging t» 
any rascal who happens to possess a sufficient quantity 
of money to buy that human tool ! 

No. 19. Kosa, field hand, 16 years of age, a capi- 
tal girl, well built, good natured and intelligent. 
U'here she stands upon the platform, gazed at by sev- 
eral hundred men. She has to submit, without a 



20 

murmur, to be examined by the liand of a rough 
fellow, a slave-driver— a name wliich I conhidtr 
equivalent to • human butcher.' Her fine teeth are 
touched by his bloody fingers ; so are her beautiful 
eyelashes ; and \vlien he is handling her beatinf' 
bosom, oh, reader! mark the just indignation ex- 
pressed in all her features ! Poor Rosa ! there is no 
help for you ; there is no salvation. She knows it, and 
the awful conviction of so crushing a calamity casts 
her down,— down into the abyss of utter despair. She 
is sold at last to the highest bidder— to the slave- 
driver— to the tiger in frock-coat and pants, for 

No. 20. Ben, field hand, 30 years old, for $1150. 

No. 21. Isam, a field hand, 40 years old, is not 
able to bring more than .>j700, because his youth has 
gone. Of course, a mulo of 18 is worth less than 
one of 6 years. It is certainly very reasonable to sell 
an old animal for loss than a young one. But, let us 
see what kind of an animal Isam is ? Isam is not a 
strong man ; his health is rather delicate ; but his 
mind is sound. He has not only an inclination to- 
ward religion, he is himself a Christian, and he acts 
on Sundays among his unfortunate fellow-men as a 
minister of the gospel. 

What! A minister of the gospel a brute— to be 
sold at auction for $700 ! Is not that a sh'ame- 
ful untruth ? No barbarian, in whatever part of the 
gk.be, will sell at public auction the priest of his 
faith for any money I Behold, ye nations of Chris- 
tendom ! There is a country which is called a Chris- 



21 

tian one, in "\;vhich a minister of the gospel of Jesns 
Christ is sold at public auction like a brute I Will 
that time never come when such as he shall be sold 
no more to the highest bidder by the pretended dis- 
ciples of that Savior who came to break every yoke, 
and to set every captive free ? 

No. 22. Yellow Charles, carter and plowman, (has 
a short leg from infancy,) 27 years of age, is sold for 
$:9o0,— a very trifling sum. Yes, indeed, trifling for 
his own natural father— the rich banker— the man of 
refinement — the gallant ' defender of liberty.' 

No. 23. Sam Bayou, field hand, 32 years old, for 
$1075. 

No. 24. Brown, field hand, 28 years, brings $1200. 
No. 2-5. George, the valorous, 26 years old, strong 
enough to be a rival to his celebrated namesake, the 
dragon-killing knight of the middle ages. At least, 
he is able to kill two alligators in five minutes. George 
(not the knight) is sold for $1400. 

No. 26. Etienne, carter and plowman, 29, sold for 
$11.50. 

No. 27. Quacco, plowman and carpenter, a young 
man of 23, brings !i;127'5. 

No. 28. Bob, blind of one eye, plowman and carter, 
aged 35, brings $850. Why only $850? Because 
he has but one eye. How did he lose the other? 
Whon he was a little boy, he had a sister, a very kind 
and gentle little girl, whom he dearly loved. One 
Sunday, they were walking together near the planta- 
tion to which they belonged. Beneath an orange 
tree, covered with red, beautiful, juicy fruits, they sat 



22 

down upon the grass. Xancy, which was the name 
of tlie little -ill, dropped silently her head; not a 
Avord came from her lips, but larpe drops lell from 
her eyes upon the grass. Bob took her hands in his, 
asking her tenderly, • Sia, what is the matter with 
you ? Why will you cry r' • O Bob," sobbed she, « I 
am very unhappy_I wiHh to die.' ' Why, Nancy r ' 
But Nancy gave no answer— all her limbs trembled— 
her eyes stared in agony towards the sugar-house. 
A big white boy came running towards them, holding 
in his hand a large whip. It was Peter, the overseer's 
oldest son— the most malicious and cruel young rascal 
in the parish— the terror of the poor slaves on the 
plantation. 

• Ay ! you black little grasshopper, have I caught 
you at last ! ' cried the young loafer, grasping her 
by the neck, and throwing her upon the grass. ♦ You 
shall know that I am master, and you are my slave.' 
'Iho terror-struck girl made no rejdy ; she only ut- 
tvvvd a long, painful groan. Bob, in great excite- 
ment, placed himself between his sister and the boy, 
crying, 'Oh, master Peter, don't hurt my sister! 
No ! you shall not hurt my sister ! ' At once, the 
young overseer got into a terrible rage, and crying, 
•Hie, dog of a nigger!' he sfnuk Bol) with the 
heavy handle of his whip in the face, and the poor 
boy fell with a single piercing cry to the ground. 
From that day. Bob had but one eye, and the stripes 
made by tlie whip of the overseer upon Bob's bacK 
can be still seen to-day. 

No. 29. (;harles Vellabusha, field hand, 24 rears 
old, price $1525. 



23 

Xo. 30. Allriok, field hand, age 45. He looks 
very good-natured ; twenty years ago, he was worth 
$2100, but is sold now for $1025. 

No. 31. Jake, good cooper, sugar-maker, and vac- 
cuna boiler, 32 years of age. His color is a ming- 
ling of yellow and white. His forehead is high, his 
face intelligent. There is no mistake — plenty of An- 
glo-Saxon blood is running through his veins. If he 
Ijad been born in Massachusetts, or in one of the other 
Free States, in Canada or in Euroje, I would bet a 
hundred dollars against one, he would be a professf^r, 
a minister, a doctor, or some kind of a savan, now. 
If his star had cast him into the empire of France, I 
should by no means be surprised to see in him a sec- 
ond Alexander Dumas ; and if, in that case, he would 
not be able to write as admirable a story as is • The 
Count oi Mont(' Christo,' I should despair of finding 
any sense in a Gall or a liavater. Well, this second 
Alixander Dumas is sold at auction for .$2625, a sum 
whi(^h he could realize for himself in less than one 
year, if he were not b(>rn in a Slave State. 

Who was Jake's mother? Of course, a mulatto 
woman, and a slave. Most probably, she has gone to 
that land where the master and the slave enjoy 'equal 
rights.' 

I'.ut who was her father? There we have a prob- 
lem, which even the discoverer of the quadrature 
of the circle can never solve. Perhaps Jake's grand- 
father was a < rising man,' and his white grandchil- 
dren are now celebrated senators and lawgivers. 

And who was the father of Jake? Don't, know- 



24 

But may it not be possible tliat he was a Governor, 
or some other big personai^e ? Perhaps, while Jake 
is being sold at auction to the highest bidder, liis nai- 
ural brothers and sisters are sitting in splendid i)ar- 
lors, or in the drawing-room of some faj-hionuble ho- 
tel, ' up North.' May not one of Jake's natural 
brothers be a Judge of the Supreme Court, and the 
other a learned minister of the gospel ? How does 
it happen that, while one of the children of tlie same 
father is a rich and high-standing favorite of the peo- 
ple, the other child is sold at public auction, like a 
valuable mule ? Can it be the little difference in 
their color? Well, let the former brother stay for 
some years in South America, or in some other warm 
climate, and I am sure his color would show no great 
difference from that of his brother who is sold at auc- 
tion. Wliy, then, sliull the one brother be treated as 
a beast, and the other brother as a gentleman r Can 
any one of my learned readers solve this problem for 
me r 

No. 32. Willis, field hand, 24 years, sold for 
$1350— and 

No. 32^. Lucy Scott, field hand, 25. She is not 
placed upon the platform. Whyr We cannot say; 
but the distressed face of the poor woman tells us 
that she has been sold privately to a personage, of 
whom they say that he is a member of the church, 
but who in reality may prove to be a demon. 

No's 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37. 

A very good-looking pair is first put upon the plat- 
form. Davy, a good__vegetable-gaideiier, 50 years 



25 

old, and his wife Harriet, about 4-5, together with their 
daughters, Cassy and Scilla, twins, 14 years, and 
Amy, 12 years. Really, I would give something if 
you could see the daguerreotype of this family stand- 
ing upon the platform, to be sold at auction. But, 
no — I recall the wish. Thank God that you cannot 
see that picture, because it would haunt you like 
a dreadful vision. 

I remember an event which I heard related while I 
was in France. A young French lady had occasion 
to visit a picture gallery. Her eyes lell upon a large 
picture, representing the martyrs thrown before wild 
beasts, at the time of the lloman Emperor Dioclesian. 
The expression of agony in the features of the bleed- 
ing Christians was so fearfully given, that the maiden 
fell into hysterics, and she never recovered from the 
effect of her terror. 

I will not attemjft to imagine the anguish and hor- 
ror that my fair female readers would have felt, if they 
could have witnessed the picture of that poor distress- 
ed family — the despairing features of those three in- 
nocent girls upon that slaughter-bench, like three 
faultless lambs offered for sacrifice ! All five were 
sold for $3000. 

No. 38. Big Bill, cooper, 55 years, and 
.No. 39. Winey, his wife — (to sell a wife at auction j 
— what a sacrilege of the sacred name ! j 54 years 
old. Both together were sold for $1850. 

No. 40. Tom, field hand, 28 years, and 

No. 41. Matilda, 25 years. For both, $2250. One 
family. 



26 

No. 42. Shad, field hand, 38 years- 
No. 43. Rachel, 29— and 
No. 44. James, their son, 6 years of age — all were ) 
sold at $2275. Dear family that! But how much, 
dearer shall he pay at the day of judgment, who sells 
the • bodies and souls of men ' lor gold, silver, and 
approved paper, like cattle ! 

No. 45. Louis Mare, bricklayer, 42 years. 
No. 46. Yellow Mary, 23 years of age. Por both 
was offered $1750. 

Kind reader, I must make your heart sad again — 
sad with compassion for your unfortunate and oi)prcss- 
ed fellow-men. But I will speak the truth, only the 
truth, and nothing but the truth. God has given 
me a feeling heart ; and, certainly, I suffered, while 
being present at the slave auction, of which I am giv- 
ing you a faint description. But I had to stay, and 
my face had to be as stern as anj^of the slave-buyers 
present, while my heart mourned. Is it not a vision J 
There stands a girl upon the platform, to be sold ta 
the highest bidder; perhaps to a cruel, low and dis- 
solute fellow, who, a day or two since, won a few 
thousand dollars by his playing tricks at the faro 
table. She is nearly white ; she is not yellow, as 
they call her. She has a fair waist, her hair is black 
and silky, and falling down in ringlets upon her full 
shoulders. Her eyes are large, soft, and languishing. 
She seeks in vain to hide the streaming tears with her 
small and delicate hands. Iler features are fair, like 
those of the girls of the Caucassian race ; they re- 
mind me of those of the liighland girls of my native 



27 

country, Switzerland. Who in all the world can have 
anything against her color? In England, she would 
be called a 'star'; in France, a 'belle'; in Ger- 
many, a * nice little woman' ; and in the free States 
of the Union, she would pass, when fashionably 
dressed, for a 'fair French lady.' But, in the Slave 
States, she is openly sold, as though she were nothing 
more than a ' beautiful mure ' or a ' splendid cow ' ! 

They say, in the Slave States, that they are Chris- 
tians ; yet they consider a fair Christian girl as a 
brute, because she is not of pure white blood I Why 
do they not make company with the fishes in the 
lower Mississippi? Have they not • white blood ' ? 

If Mary's fatiier, who is, perhaps, a very much 
honored gentleman, * one of the best members of his 
church ' — if that great man could see his only daugh- 
ter, his own flesh and blood, standing upon the plat- 
form, with tearful eyes, and sighing in untold misery 
to be sold like a quadruped — surely, his blood would 
turn * white ' for shame and terror ! 

No. 47. Josephus, accomplished blacksmith, 35 
years old — and 

No. 48. Catharine, field hand, 30 years old. Cath- 
arine is a very strong and healthy-looking woman. 
If this pair of giants had the liberty to keep the 
earnings of their own labor for themselves, they 
would surely make the money for which they are 
sold now, — those $2800, — in less than three years. 
But their bodies belong to another, because the laws 
of the Slave States regard men and women of color as 
beasts of burden * 



28 

No. 49. Dennis, field hand, (suffers from hernia.) 
fifty-five years — 

No. 60. Isabella, thirty-one years. Trice for these 
poor human beings, $! 13,50. 

No. 51. Amos, ficM hand, a very smart and intelli- 
gent looking boy of sixteen, brings $1450, or one 
hundred dollars more than the poor couple sold before 
him. 

No. 52. Fielding, field hand, 26 years, and— 
No. 53. Nelly, also a field hand, 30 years, both 
bring $2200. 

No. 54. George Sunday, field hand, age 22, for 
$1400. 
^ No. 65. Gay, 30, and 

No. 56. Hannah, 35, together with 

No. 57. Ellen, her daughter, a young girl of 13 
years. Both Hannah and Ellen are crying very hard, 
because they are perhaps to be sold to a ruffian who 
made his fortune by swindling, and who will pay now 
$2300 for honest people, who have never done the 
least harm to anybody, who are faithful Christians, 
and whose hearts are to be broken by an act worthy 
of ny blood-thirsty barbarians ! 

No.58 Quash, field hand, aged 17. A black skin 
he has, like polished ebony, but no doubt his heart is 
white. How much whiter than the 'man-driver* 
who is going to buy him for the sum cf $1400 ! 

No. 60. John Louis, field hand, 24 years, and 

No. Gl. Fine, his wife — (wife r yes, as long as her 
master will permit her to remain such !) age 19, 
and 



29 

No. 62. Collar, a plump, little boy of 3 years. The 
last bid for them is $3050. Hear what the man be- 
hind my chair eays to his companion :— « Splendid 
family that ! Very likely girl— fine child— but he 
paid a good deal of cash for them three blask animals.' 

' Yes, Bob,' says the other, ' he spends plenty of 
money, but he will make 'era work ! Holy Tschoup- 
itoulas ! they will get more lickings than tomatoes 
and bacon.' 

Collar's mother presses her little boy to her bosom ; 
she casts her tearful eyes towards heaven. But even 
heaven seems to be closed to her prayers and to her 
tears. Shall she doubt that there is a just God above 
the clouds ? Must her faith in the precious redemp- 
tion of mankind, through the Savior, be destroyed 
in this dreadful hour ? Can she still believe in the 
Lord and Master of her soul, xvhen her tormentors 
call themselves disciples of this same Lord ? Chris- 
tian reader, will you not mourn wliile so many thou- 
sands of your humble fellow-men are groaning in 
chains ? Can you sing and pray with a joyful heart 
in the house of the Lord, when you know that the 
cross of your Savior is trodden upon by the feet of 
* Christian slave-drivers ' ? 

Nations, mourn ! for justice is dead, and crime is 
triumphant! 

liCt us return to the « hall of perdition,' in mourn- 
ing apparel. 

No. G3. Squire, 28 years, and 

No. 61. Gertrude, cook, washer and ironer, age 
about 21. This fine but sad-looking pair bring 
$2600. 



30 

No. 65. Richard, field hand, age 19, sold for ex- 
actly $1000. 

No. 6G. John, plowman, 32 years, and 

No. G7. Nancy, field hand, about 30. Ilighest bid 
for both, $1750. 

No. G8. Davy, 58 years, and 

No. 69. Polly, 50 years old, both sold for $500. 

Five hundred dollars is a fair price for a horse, or 
for a valuable mule. liut here we can perceive 
neither horses nor mules, but human beings, who, with- 
out regard to color or standing, await, like us, the 
hour of their call from this world to the judgment 
seat. Those two grey heads, of very humble looking 
persons, have been placed upon the auction-stand or 
platform. For forty years they have devoted their 
strength to the father of their master, and to him. 
They have gathered forty harvests for him — yes, for 
him who is now selling them for $500 ! They brought 
him ten times as much as he is now getting for their 
worn-out bodies. 

No. 70. Frank Fortier, field hand, 36 years, and 

No. 71. Fanny, 26 years, both were sold for $1600. 

No. 72. James Pegram, field hand, 37 years. 

No. 73. Johanna, 16 years. 

No. 7-4. Cornelius, 8 years. 

No. 75. Jane, 7 years. 

No. 76. Old Maria, 60 years. 

Another tableau, which, if Mr. Keller, the cele- 
brated performer of * living tableaux,' should exhibit 
in the Academy of Music, in the Athenaeum, or in 
some other public hall of a * free city,' he would cer- 



31 

tainly take the house by storm, and every nerve of 
his justice and freedom-loving audience would pow- 
erfully vibrate with indignation against the cold-heart- 
ed destroyers of family life and of human rights. 

Header ! imagine five persons, standing upon a 
platform, similar to a funeral pile erected for martyrs. 
Their color is darker than that of the persons sitting 
in front of the arena. There are eighty-three human 
beings, of various colors, and of different ages, bend- 
ing down their heads, and looking as if they were 
condemned to death, and were now to be executed. 
Those five * articles for sale at auction ' consist of a 
father, three children, and their grandmother. Their 
mother has gone to bear witness, before the holy 
tribunal of the great Judge of the world, and to ac- 
cuse the tormentors of her unfortunate people. 

James, a strong, intelligent-looking man, gazes in 
utter despair upon his youngest child, who clings to 
him in distress. Poor little Jane ! At the youthful 
age of seven, thou shalt already drink the bitter cup ! 
And Johanna ! O gentle maiden of sixteen summers ! 
How she covers her eyes with one tip of her head- 
cloth, grasping her trembling little brother Cornelius 
by the hand ! And what is their father doing ? He 
is raising his eyes — there is one flash — a terrible one ! 

Tremble, O South ! Though that slave is but one, 
and has no power as a single man, let others join him ! 
Let a million of his brothers rise against their mas- 
ters' reign of terror ! Let them break their chains ! 
Then, South ! it shall be too late to repent ! Then 
thy day of judgment has eome ! ^ 



32 

Old Maria— how pitiful she looks ! Poor old 
grandma ! Sixty years have passed over her gray 
hairs ; she has done her duty— (what duty had she to 
do?)— she has done all she could, without murmur- 
ing. She has raised children, nursed grand-children. 
Never as her own— no, always for her master ! She 
has been always a very meek, a very quiet, good-na- 
tured soul. ]}ut to-day— had she ever such a feeling 
of approaching evil ? She is not quiet to-day ; she 
trembles every time she glances at her dear family. 
She is asking herself, • Shall I be permitted to go 
■with them ? or shall I be sold alone ?' 

Hear ! What said he there— that stately man with 
his white neckcloth, his gold chain, and large s^cal 
thereon? What said .he ? *I do not want the old 
woman. Sell her alone !' 

Yes !, that man had the last bid. He paid |!3000 
for James,^ Johanna, Cornelius, and Jane ; but he 
•won't buy the old woman. No! he only wants 
'young hands.' And the old mother, the kind 
grandma, is torn away from her dear family, and will 
never see them again. She is sold for .$200 to an- 
other, and all her happiness is given in the bargain ! 
Some people pretend that slaves are indifferent to 
their being bought and sold. Upon questioning, I 
-was told by many slaves who had comparatively kind 
masters, that their minds are constantly troubled for 
fear of being sold. They would rather submit to the 
most cruel treatment at the hands of their masters, 
than to be separated. 

A very strong and valuable slave in Mobile assured 



33 

me, that if his master should ever attempt to sell him, 
he would jump into the river. His idea of hell, he 
said, was a large platform of red hot iron, where bad 
people are to be sold. Tlie auctioneer there is the 
devil. • There is,' said he, * a good deal more white 
folks sold there by the devil than black ones.' If 
those poor fellows had no reason like brutes — if they 
could not be conscious of their miserable condition — 
if they had no rational feeling — they might be less 
unhappy ; but their reason, their power of intellect, 
is frequently superior to that of their brutal and 
often drunken masters. When slaves, who have 
been raised by kind masters, know that they shall be 
sold to men of ill repute, they live in a constant state 
of desperation, until they are sold, when they sub- 
mit themselves to their deplorable lot, or look out 
for some opportunity to run away. 

I shall never forget an awful catastrophe which took 
place in a large Southern seaport while I resided 
there. A beautiful quadroon slave girl, of about six- 
teen summers, with a skin such as many a Spanish 
lady would be proud of, and with splendid long black 
curls, was bought at auction for $1900 by a confirmed 
dissolute rascal, who forced her in the same night to 
stay with him. 

Though she was a slave, E-aimond Legrand, an 
honest young Frenchman, had fallen in love with 
her. He had sworn to buy her, and to bring her to 
♦ la belle France,' where color of skin is never pun- 
ished by imprisonment in the galleys, nor elsewhere. 
Unfortunately, he was not in possession of the 



34 

money "which her master asked for her. To procure 
it, Kaimond went to California. During the time- of 
his absence, tlie ratlier good-natured master of Mad- 
eline, (that was her name,") died suddenly, and his 
heir put Madeline up at auction. She was bought 
by the fellow I mcntiDued before, and all her hap- 
py dreams and hojjes were at once blasted. Her pit- 
iful cries and groans of anguish, in that liorrible night, 
•were hoard for several houses from that of her in- 
human new master. But there was no help for her, 
no salvation for Madeline. For the law of the State 
says: — 'A slave has to obey in all cases Ids or 
her master.' In the following morning, a human 
chase was seen down the street towards the wharf. A 
young and beautiful girl, with living curls, crying 
piteously, and running with all her might, was fol- 
lowed by a man who shouted, ' Stop her ! stop her !' 
That poor girl was Madeline, ancHu'r pursuer was her 
new master. A man r No, a demon in human 
shape ! Thej' arrive together upon the wharf above 
the stream. He seizes hold of the dress of his vic- 
tim, exclaiming, • Mine again! curse you!' But, in 
an instant, she tears herself from the grasp of her 
tormentor — she casts one quick despairing glance 
upwards — and, uttering the words, • Adieu, cher 
Kaimond !' she throws herself from the wharf into 
the stream, and was seen no more. 

No. 77. Scott, field hand, aged about 19, for $137o. 

No. 78. Campbell, 22 years, for $1500. 

No. 79. Dennis, 26 years, brought $1G00. 

Three valuable laborers, healthy and strong men. 



II 



35 

They are condemned to * hard labor for life,' as a re- 
ward for their good behavior and diligence. 

Xo. 80. Frank, field hand, and excellent gardener, 
22 years, for $li25. 

No. 81. Gerrard, 24 years, for $1500. 

No. 82. John, 18 years, for $1375. 

No. 83. Betty, a mild-looking young girl of fifteen 
summers. But what kind of summers? * Driving ' 
ones, of course. And what shall be her winters ? 
"NVe are going to learn it directly. 

No. 81 and No. 85 are placed upon the stand. Tom, 
field hand, about 48 years, and Old Betsy, his wife, 
three years older than Tom. Tom is a very honest- 
looking man. Perhaps he is a cousin to the celebrated 
* Uncle Tom,' well known by the brilliant pen of that 
truth-loving writer, Miis. Hauuiet Bekcher Stowe. 
Tom dares not to look up, for he feels dreadfully 
ashamed to be put up at auction, like a mule or a dog. 
He suffers from hernia, a complaint which he contract- 
ed while catching a barrel of molasses, M'hich, rolling 
down from a hill, endangered the life of a white in- 
fant child. Tom is therefore entitled to a reward for 
saving human life, and particularly white life. En- 
titled to a reward ? O, yes ! There stands Tom upon 
the platform of a slave auction-room, and enjoys his 
reward — to be sold to the highest bidder for $250 ! 

I have seen a valuable mule, which, by kicking, 
caused the death of a child. This animal was after- 
wards sold at auction for the sura of $375, fully $125 
more than our generous Tom ! 

No. 85. Who is No. 85 ? Ay, there we find poor 



36 

old Betsy, kind old soul ! She labored more than 40 
years in her master's house. Slie had sung and 
cradled tlie children to sleep, carefully protecting 
them from all harm. She watched over those chil- 
dren like a mother; and if there were some particu- 
larly fine, golden oranges hanging over the porch, she 
had to get them down for her darling boy, her mas- 
ter's child. And this very child, now a full-grown 
man, is selling her to-day at auction for $100. 

No. SG. John Jones, field hand, (suffers from slight 
hernia,) 23 years old, and 

No. 87. Anna Kentuck, 22 years, and 

No. 88. Her little boy, Armstead, 3 years. All to- 
gether were sold for .$1950. But the stranger who 
had the last bid is not able to give the requisite se- 
curity, nor is he in possession of cash ; and the poor 
family is placed again upon the platform, to be resold. 
The torture begins anew ; they have again to feel the 
mortification of being placed in the same category with 
cattle. Armstead, the poor little boy, will give you 
the best proof that even little children can feel the 
atrocity of being thus sold. He begins to cry most 
pitifully, and hides his face under the white apron of 
his weeping mother. 

No. 89. Louisa, and 

No. 90. Her child, a babe. 

Louisa is a splendid young woman, of about 21. 
Her stately form and noble features will make you 
believe that she is a descendant of pure royal African 
blood. She is, perhaps, the grand-daughter of some 
princess, who was stolen from her native country by 



37 

some pirate who called himself a Christian ! Her 
splendid black eyes are proudly surveying the sitting 
assemblage, as if scorning the power of those dealers 
in human souls. But, suddenly, their flashing light 
is gone ; she casts them down, and large drops are 
falling upon her darling babe in her arms. Picture a 
sleeping babe and its mother for sale at auction ! To 
you, gentle mothers of darling babes, I am now 
addressing my simple words. If the heart of man 
should be cast of iron, or carved out of granite, a lov- 
ing mother's heart is soft, like pure melted wax, and 
always susceptible to every impression of goodness 
and of compassion. She alone can tell how great is 
the pain to see her darling babe suffer. She alone 
can understand the sufferings of other unfortunate 
mothers. 

Mothers ! which among you could bear to see your 
own dear babe torn from your arms r But poor Louisa 
is forced to see it ! Can she bear the dreadful 
thought ? Why is she a Christian ? Can that faith 
be a true one — can it be a just one — when they who 
sell her and her babe call themselves Christians ? 
Can she still believe in the Savior of mankind ? 

But, be silent, and take a glance at that poor mother ! 
Though sold for $1275, she presses her babe closer to 
her beating bosom ; she raises her large tearful eyes 
towards heaven, from whence salvation shall come ; 
for she believes in her Savior upon the Cross, in that 
Savior who shed his blood for the everlasting freedom 
of all human beings. 

Keader, a loving mother is a prophetess ; and al- 



38 

though she foresees the dangers that shall befall her 
darling babe, she also recognizes its deliverance, 
and its final happiness, through the almighty hand of 
the Lord, who is the Savior of little babes, as well as 
the Savior of men and women. 

No. 91. Yellow John, field hand, 28 years, and his 
companion in his life of misery — 

No. 92. Martha. Both were sold for $1800. 

The kind reader will please enter a magnificent cas- 
tle, situated in a romantic province, upon the charm- 
ing borders of the river Seine. The noble Count is 
sitting upon a richly gilded fauteuil, leaning with his 
arms upon a small table of rosewood. A golden gob- 
let and two sealed bottles of the first quality of old 
' Chateau-Haut-Briou ' are placed before him upon the 
table. A footman, dressed in glittering livery, is 
awaiting his orders. But the Count remains silent ; 
his eyes are wandering out through the arched win- 
dow, until they are fixed upon the sublime scenery 
before them. The setting sun is casting its mild rays 
upon the beautiful landscape. The soft waves of the 
river are refiecting the light with the brilliancy of an 
ocean of diamonds. The deep blue sky is partly 
painted with purple, green and violet, shining with a 
celestial splendor. Droves of cows and flocks of 
sheep are descending the fair hills, and are making 
for hom.e. Bright and lovely maidens, wearing upon 
their black, curled hair beautiful wreaths of flowers, 
are dancing like so many fairies upon the green, 
flowery turf of the pasture ground, above the stream. 

Sir Count ! do you not enjoy the lovely scene be- 



39 

fore your eyes ? Are you not a happy man, to be 
the owner of so much beauty ? 

But the Count hears nothing— sees nothing ; his 
mind is absent; he is dreaming of by-gone days. 
Suddenly, his face seems to be troubled with a strange 
thought — his lips are audibly uttering the words, * La 
Louisiane ! Mon Dieu, que j'etais fou ! Pauvre 
Jeannette ! Comment ? Non, non, c'est impossible ! 
Ca se ne pent pas !' 

What is he saying ? Is he not speaking of Louisi- 
ana ? He says : * My God, what a fool I was ! Poor 
Jane ! How ? No, no, it is not possible — it cannot 
be so !' 

What cannot be so? Who is Jane? Didn't they 
call John's mother Jeannette, or Jane ? Yes, Count ! 
Indeed, it can be ! Noble Count, while you are liv- 
ing in riches and plenty, master of a proud and mag- 
nificent castle, 3'our son — yes, Count ! your only son, 
is a miserable slave ! He is standing, this very hour, 
upon the platform of a slave-auction room ! He, your 
own flesh and blood ! Listen, O Count ! listen to 
the terrible story ! He — your son — is sold to the 
highest bidder like a brute ! 

Count ! if your heart is able to feel — if you are not 
a lump of ice, like the heart of yonder unfeeling 
slave-driver — fly from your splendid castle, and go 
to parts unknown ; for the terrible vision of the dread- 
ful calamity that awaits your only son will haunt you 
from the saloon to the sleeping apartment, and from 
the garden to the pinnacle of the tower. 

But John, the young Count of Chateau-Brillant, 



40 

is forced to await the orders of his new master — for 
he is a slave ! 

No. 93. Moses, field hand, 35 ; 

No. 9-t. Matilda, 30 ; 

No. 95. Richard, 9 ; 

No. 9G. Mike, a bright little boy of 6. 

Again a splendid family, all the members of which 
are • very likely ' ; so says the auctioneer. 'Superior 
to all sold heretofore.' Moses, a strong, healthy and 
intelligent-looking man, is standing upon the platform, 
with the feelings of a father whose dear ones and 
himself are disposed of like dogs. See, he is strong ; 
he is able to fight for his freedom, and no doubt 
could overpower half a dozen of those sickly-looking 
slave-drivers. Well, why don't he fight to gain his 
liberty, and, consequently, be regarded as a man, and 
not as a mule ? Because he is well aware that he 
has no power as a single man, and that he cannot 
combine with his other unfortunate brothers to break 
the yoke, as did his great namesake of old several 
thousand years ago. Is he afraid of death ? O no, 
for he knows perfectly well that his body is not his 
own ; that the bodies of his beloved ones do not be- 
long to themselves. Who then would suffer, in case 
of his death, but his money-making master ? But 
Moses has two reasons for not avenging himself. The 
first is, he is sure that the attempt to excite his 
brothers in bondage to revolt against their masters, 
would not only imperil their lives, but in all proba- 
bility subject them to an awful death upon the burn- 
ing wood-pile. Moses is not afraid of any wood- pile, 



41 

whether burning or not ; but he has a good-natured 
disposition, and therefore shrinks from involving his 
brethren in so awful a catastrophe. H e will continue 
to suffer under the whip, rather than cause the death 
of his fellows upon the funeral pile. 

His second reason is, because he is a Christian. 

Every slaveholder knows perfectly well that a 
Christian slave is worth much more than one who 
has no faith at all. Many of them are sagacious 
enough to teach their slaves the gospel, and particu- 
larly those words of the apostle Paul : « Servants, be 
obedient to them that are your masters, according to 
the flesh, with fear and trembling.' Ephes. vi. 5. 
Here and there, a slaveholder will forbid his slaves to 
attend religious exercises ; but he is a fool, and he 
will surely suffer for it. 

I happened once to get acquainted with a French- 
man, an owner of slaves, who said to me, * Doctor, 
I will be obliged to you if you will teach my slaves 
your religious opinions ; for though they are to me 
ridiculous, I know very well that my slaves, once be- 
lieving in your nonsense, will be worth more to me 
than they are now.' 

Alas ! poor Moses will remain a slave until death 
shall break his chains ! But, no ! His chains shall be 
broken before ! God grant it ! 

No. 94. Matilda, wife of Moses, (though she is never 
regarded as a wife by the slave code,) seems to be a 
very good creature. While she is weeping silently, 
she presses her last-born, her darling boy, her Mike, 
close to her bosom. Poor child ! Bitter, yes, very 



42 

bitter are the tears thy unfortunate mother is weep- 
ing over tliee ! Alas ! she fears that thou mayest be 
sold to a man whose gospel is ' money.' O Mike ! 
will he order you to his infamous gambling saloon r 
^Vill you learn his tricks, and will he poison your pure 
innocent heart with his blasphemies ? Is it his inten- 
tion to make you a deceiver, a thief, a robber, a mur- 
derer ? Dreadful thought ! that child of aftliction 
and of prayers shall perhaps become a candidate for 
the gallows ! And why ? For money's sake ! Yes, 
to fill a villain's pockets with money ! 

And Richard — the noble, the smart, the truth-lov- 
ing boy, with those clear innocent eyes — what shall 
become of him when his new master shall prove to 
be man of dissolute habits ? 

Mourn again, reader ! for virtue and justice shall 
succumb, and crime shall be triumphant. That family 
brings a good price. These Christians are sold for 
$3000 ; and with them their hope, their virtue, their 
faith, all that they possess in this world. The cur- 
tain falls — the tragedy closes. 

No. 97. Jerry, field hand, 42 years, and 

No. 98. Molly, 40 years. An old looking couple, 
but a kind, a true-hearted one. 

* Gentlemen,' says the auctioneer . But be- 
fore I proceed, the reader will give me permission to 
mention that the four ladies, present at the com- 
mencement of this auction sale, did not bid, nor did 
they remain for more than half an hour. For the 
honor of their sex, I am bound to mention that they 
(though most probably themselves owners of slaves,) 



43 



seemed to feel very uneasy while present. I believe 
that there is a certain natural feeling with the great 
majority of the gentler sex, which is more just, and 
more open to the truths of the gospel, than we of 
the masculine race are able to comprehend. 

« Gentlemen,' says the auctioneer, « Jerry and Mol- 
ly are the last couple to be sold to-day ; for it is late, 
and we have to close. To-morrow at 12 M., the rest 
of the slaves, belonging to this gang, fifty-one very 
valuable, sound and likely negroes, will be sold to 
the highest bidder for cash and approved paper.' 

I intend,— Deo volente— to delineate at some future 
time the proceedings of ♦ the sale of to-morrow.' 
Let us close, for the present, with poor Jerry and un- 
fortunate Molly, who were sold to a not very kind 
looking man for $1125. 

The chattels are sold. There were ninety-eight 
large and small articles-Christian goods-bringing 
to their former owner the snug little sum of $80,890. 
Will that sum be sufficient to buy ninety-eight souls 
of men, baptized in the name of the Father, of the 
Son, and of the Holy Spirit ? Friends ! eighty mil- 
lions will never buy them from their Father in hea- 
ven, for they have been ' bought with a price '—with 
the precious blood of the Son of God ! 

Surely, if we are convinced that the institution of 
slavery is a great wrong against humanity, and a 
heavy curse to Christianity, we shall seek to abolish 
it without delay. 

But how can we do it? By what means can we 
induce the slaveholders in the South to give up their 



44 



property,' their « wealth,' their « merchandise,' their 
valuable goods r ' Shall we invade the Slave States 
■v^ith a large army, and liberate the slaves bv means 
of revolvers, kmves. swords, and Sharp's or' Minnie 
rifles r I know the Southerners too well, not to be 
convmced that every one of them would tight to the 
dealh-that they would lose every drop of their blood 
rather than consent to give up their slaves. ThJ 
Southerner is no coward; he is brave in battle, and 
faces death without fear. But, suppose that the 
M-hole boay of the oppressed slaves should rise as one 
man, and strike for their liberty-would not their 
victory be certain? Yes, but what a victory ! Streams 
of blood would stain the ever-blooming soil of the 
South, and legions of corpses would become a prey 
( to the vultures. And whose blood would flow > That 
only of mean and cruel slave-drivers r Oh no • 
I Many thousand corpses of innocent babes would point 
up to heaven for vengeance I Thousands of bloom- 
ing young maidens would be slaughtered, causin- the 
blood-stained soil to remain a curse for many centu- 
ries ! 

No, my friends ! No revolver, no rifle, no knife 
no bloodshed nor slaughter shall be necessary to met-' 
amorphose slaves into freemen. No war is able to 
abolish the institution of slavery. There is a stand- 
ard which is bound to be victorious in the hottest of 
battles-a standard, before the glory of which, the 
most stubborn of slave-drivers shall be forced to fall 
upon his knees, crying, ♦ Lord ! what shall I do to 
be saved ?' That standard is the Cross of the He- 



^■ofC. 



45 

deeraer of mankind I If the slaveholders will truly 
believe in the powerful suijremacy of that standard, it 
will be impossible for them to keep any longer 
their colored brethren in so shameful a bondage^as 
Slavery. If the slaveholder of the South would° call 
himself a Christian, without being a hypocrite, he 
will be obliged to do away with Slave laws, Slave 
markets, and Slave auctions— in fact, TO ABOLISH 
SLAVERY. 



om 



THE CHKISTIAN SLAVE. 

BY J. G. WHITTIER. 

[In a publication of L. F. Tasistro, 'Randum 
Shots and Southern Breezes,' is a description of a 
slave auction at New Orleans, at which the auction- 
eer recommended the woman on the stand as ' a good 
Christian ! 'J 

A Christian ! going, gone ! 
Who bids for God's own image ?— for His grace 
Which that poor victim of the market-i^lace 

Hath in her suffering won? 

My God ! can such things be ? 
Hast thou not>aid that whatsoe'er is done 
Unto Thy weakest and Thy humblest one, 

Is even done to Thee ? 

In that sad victim, then, 
Child of Thy pitying love, I see Thee stand— 



46 

Once more the jest- word of a mocking band, 
Bound, sold, and scourged again ! 

A Christian up for sale ! 
"Wet with her blood your whips — o'ertask her frame, 
Make her life loathsome with your wrong and shame, 

Iler patience shall not fail ! 

Cheers for the turbaned Bey 
Of robber-peopled Tunis ! he hath torn 
The dark slave-dungeons open, and hath borne 

Tlieir inmates into day: 

But our poor slave in vain 
Turns to the Christian shrine her aching eyes — 
Its rites will only swell her market price. 

And rivet on her chain. 

God of all right ! how long 
Shall priestly robbers at Thine altar stand. 
Lifting in prayer to Thee the bloody hand 

And haughty brow of wrong ! 

O, from the fields of cane, 
From the low rice-swamp, from the trader's cell — 
From the black slave-ship's foul and loathsome hell. 

And coffle's weary chain — 

Hoarse, horrible, and strong, 
Rises to heaven that agonizing cry. 
Filling the arches of the hollow sky, 

How LONG, O LOBD, HOW LONG ! 



47 



THE SLAVE MINGO'S POEM. 

To the Editor of the Boston Journal : 

[The following remarkable poem was sent me from 
the South bj' a friend, who informs me that the au- 
thor of it was a slave named Mingo, a man of won- 
derful talents, and on that account oppressed by his 
master. While in the slave-prison, he penciled this 
poetic; gem on one of the beams, which was afterwards 
found and copied. My friend adds that Mingo did 
escape, at night, but was recaptured and destroyed 
by the bloodhounds. My friend promises to send oth- 
er poems of his, which, he says, are in possession of 
Mingo's aged wife.] C. W. 

Good God ! and must I leave them now — 

My wife, my children, in their woe ? 

'Tis mockery to say I'm sold — 

But I forget these chains so cold, 

Which goad my bleeding limbs, though high 

My reason mounts above the sky. 

Dear wife, they cannot sell the rose 

Of love, that in my bosom glows. 

Kemember, as your tears may start, 

They cannot sell th' immortal part ! 

Thou sun, which lightest bond and free, 

Tell me, I praj-, is liberty 

The lot of those who noblest feel, 

And oftest to Jehovah kneel ? 

Then I may say, but not with pride, 

I feel the rushings of the tide 

Of reason and of eloquence, 

AVhich strive and yearn for eminence. 



48 

1 feel high manhood on me now, 
A spirit-glory on my brow; 
I feel a tlirill of music roll, 
Like angel harpings, through my soul, | 

While poesy, with rustling wings, B 

Upon my spirit rests and sings ; i5 

He sweeps my heart's deep throbbing lyre, • 

Who touched Isaiah's lips with fire. \ 

To Plymouth Rock, ye breezes, bear I 

These words from me, as I would dare, \ 

If I were free : Is not our God ^ 

Our common Father? — from the sod I 

He formed us all ; then brothers — yes ; | 

We're brothers all, though some oppress. 

And grind their equals in the dust. 

O Heaven ! tell me, is this just ? 

'Tis fiendish. No I I will not go, i 

And leave my children here in woe ! ' 

God help me ! Out, bright dagger! gleam, 

And find the coward's heart, and strcaai 

With fiendish blood ! This night, this night, 

Or I am free, or it shall smite 

The master and his slave, and we 

Will seek the heavenly liberty ! 

There will my master's bloody lash 

No longer lacerate * * ♦ 

Note. The last line was, from some cause, incom- 
plete ; perhaps his feelings overcame him at the coa- ! 
ception. I concluded to give it as it was. C. W. 



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